This invention relates to a cassette tape recorder, more particularly to a tape recorder with a stop button performing ejecting function with stopping function.
In a prior art tape recorder, the playback and recording modes are set up by pressing playback and recording buttons, respectively, and the stop mode is set by pressing a stop button. Further, cassette ejection is performed by pressing an ejecting button. Thus, in such prior art tape recorder, the stop and ejecting buttons each have only a single function of their own, so that it is hard to achieve very quick operations. Moreover, the need of both the stop and ejecting buttons cannot help but make the construction of the tape recorder more complex, constituting a hindrance to the miniaturization thereof.
In order to eliminate the aforesaid drawback of the prior art, there is provided a cassette tape recorder which includes a single control member capable of selectively performing stopping and ejecting functions. Known as such cassette tape recorder is a tape recorder which is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 48250/76, for example. This cassette tape recorder is provided with a control lever which is pivotably mounted on an ejecting plate so as to be able to rock with a brake release plate when any one of slidable operating buttons, such as play, FF and REW buttons, is pressed. When one of these operating buttons is pressed to set the tape recorder for an operating mode, the operating button causes the brake release plate to slide therewith to release the brake force, and is locked by a slidable lock plate. The slide of the brake release plate causes the control lever to rock into a position where the control lever cannot engage a rockable stop lever. If the stop lever is rocked while the tape recorder is in the operating mode, the operating button is released from the lock plate to stop a tape driving mechanism, and at the same time the brake release plate returns to its original position to actuate a brake mechanism, thereby setting up the stop mode. At this time, the control lever is rocked, in conjunction with the action of the brake release plate, to a position where it can engage the stop lever. Thus, if rocked in the stop mode, the stop lever will abut against the control lever to slide the ejecting plate along with the control lever so as to release a cassette holder from engagement with the ejecting plate, thereby achieving ejection of the cassette holder, i.e. cassette ejection. However, including the slidable lock plate and the rockable control lever provided separately, even this construction is subject to the defect in simplicity.
As another example of the cassette tape recorder including a single control member capable of selectively performing stopping and ejecting functions, there is known one that is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,947,895 by Suzuki issued on Mar. 30, 1976. This cassette tape recorder is provided with a stop lever on which a cam member with a shoulder capable of engaging an ejecting lever is rockably mounted. Further, when one of a pair of function control levers is pressed to set the tape recorder for the playback or recording mode, the pressed function control member abuts against a slidable lock lever intersecting the function control lever to slide the lock lever, and thereafter is locked by the lock lever. Including a reduced number of members, this cassette tape recorder is simple in construction and cheap in production cost. However, since the lock lever is normally sandwiched between the stop lever and cam member, that is, three members are piled up on a structural frame, so it is hard to reduce the thickness of the tape recorder. Moreover, the lock lever is formed of an angle plate which has a projection to abut against the cam member and a tab fitted with one end of a compression coil spring stretched between the cam member and the lock lever. Such angle plate would make it further difficult to slim the tape recorder.